Motley Crue Biopic Director Jeff Tremaine Promises ‘A Great Movie’

It's been in the works for so long that some fans may have stopped wondering if or when it'll actually arrive in theaters, but the movie based on Motley Crue's autobiography 'The Dirt' is still very much in development, and director Jeff Tremaine promises it'll be well worth the wait.

Tremaine discussed the project during a recent interview with Loudwire, explaining, "I’m not coming into this movie as a super fan. I’m attracted to this material because I’ve lived it. That book, I just connected to it on so many levels and it’s incredible fun and tells a real story. I’m not even out to make a rock movie. I’m making a really interesting movie and it’s set in the world of rock ‘n’ roll. It’s set in a really loud time and place. Ultimately, it’s going to be a great movie."

Admitting he came into the project from "a severe underdog position" because of his background with the unscripted 'Jackass' franchise, Tremaine insisted that his success with those films enabled him to be selective about what he directed next -- and he locked onto 'The Dirt' in a big way. "I really had to dig deep and show them that I’m capable — show them that one, I’m connected to this material. Here is how I think it should look, here is how I created a mood reel," he explained. "I just took my sources of what I think it should feel like. I made a book. I chased it really hard."

Saying he wants to depict the "whole progression" of the band's career, Tremaine admitted it will be a struggle to condense everything into a 90-minute or two-hour film, and predicted the script would focus on the first 10 years of the Crue's story; as he put it, "I don’t want anyone looking at their phones or watches during this movie." And although he said he hasn't had a "super collaborative" relationship with the band members thus far, he added, "I’ve had to get their approval to shepherd this and tell their story. Past that, its just been us diving in and using the book as the source -- getting the story right and now its going back out to them and I want to hear what they say. So we will collaborate and I feel very much a real responsibility that I’m telling their story."

The movie's long development cycle has been a blessing in at least one way: Motley Crue's long-discussed farewell tour is happening just as everything is coming together with 'The Dirt,' giving Tremaine an opportunity to, as he put it, "go out and steal a few shows and get some of those big set pieces without having to pay full price for them...It’s a great opportunity if we can get it up and going, not lost on me. Getting a crowd like that, that’s real. I’m sure [the concert shots] are going to look right."